Tag Archives: lake structure

Top predators aren’t pushovers and being at the top of the food chain they can muscle their way into the prime real estate on any water system. Northern pike, especially big ones, inhabit the structures on a water system that best meets a variety of criteria, including access to food, shelter, ambushing opportunities, water temperature, and oxygen levels.

Three prime areas that often meet these criteria for large northern after they’ve spawned in the shallows are points, humps and saddles. Here’s examples of these customary pike structures.

36″ Northern Pike

Points

Points are a piece of structure that juts out into deep water off of shore or an island. They range in shapes and sizes but ultimately points extend into and are surrounded by deeper water. The variation they provide compared to the uniform surrounding shoreline and underwater contours, along with fast access to deep water, make them attractive to pike.

Northern move on points to feed, whether on walleye, perch, bass, or any other species they can get their mouths on. Wind-blown points attract big pike as the turmoil created by waves often stimulates feeding activity as prey become disoriented. Pike are active all day, but morning and evening are particularly good times to try points. When choosing points consider that the larger the structure the more fish it’s likely to hold.

Humps

A hump is an uprising in the bottom depth with a considerable area. They’re also often referred to as bars or sunken islands. The same fish-attraction structural qualities of points also make humps a common place to find northern. Mid-lake humps are particularly productive for trophy pike during summer and autumn. On large, deep lakes northern often inhabit cool, deep water where they’ll follow and feed on schools of whitefish and lake herring.

Humps often attract deep-water pike as both resting and foraging areas. Shallow humps that peak around 10′ to 15′ often have weed growth, which will attract all sizes of pike. Deeper, rocky humps that top out around 20′ to 35′ appeal to big, deep-water fish.

Saddles A saddle is best described as follows: Picture yourself holding a rubber band in two hands so it’s straight. Move your hands together and the band drops — there’s your saddle. Your thumbs and forefingers represent either humps or islands, which could vary in size and shape, and the bends in the band are the sloping, connected points that join these two land masses. Sometimes these slopes are relatively uniform, as in the rubber band example, while in other instances one side may extend farther or drop faster than the other.

In addition to the reasons listed above for points and humps, there are a few other benefits to saddles. The first is they tend to be fairly sizeable structures giving them the potential to hold multiple big fish. Add to this the fact that saddles contain a variety of different depths plus plenty of physical features all wrapped up in one interconnected formation, and it’s no wonder they’re a pike paradise and typically known as big fish spots.

Structure Details

When fishing points, humps and saddles, paying attention to the finer details in the layout of these areas will catch you more and bigger pike. You want to find additional features that will concentrate fish. These zones are often referred to as “the spot on the spot” and represent prime real estate for fish. Small fingers, which could be described as miniature points, and inside bends on any of these three spots have a tendency to attract fish and funnel their movements. Focusing on deep weed walls is wise as pike will hunt along these edges. Rock piles also attract fish.

If you’re fishing the river section of our lake keep current in mind. Expect northern to hunt on the middle to the downstream portion of structures more often than the area being hit with flowing water. Walleye and suckers will hold in the slack water created by these structures and pike won’t be far away from their food.

The next time you’re pursuing a fishing map, keep points, humps and saddles in mind. These structures regularly hold quality northern pike throughout the year after fish have spawned. Fish them thoroughly and don’t be afraid to hit the same structure multiple times in a day to better your chances at intercepting a big pike feeding.

Top predators aren’t pushovers and being at the top of the food chain they can muscle their way into the prime real estate on any water system. Northern pike, especially big ones, inhabit the structures on a water system that best meets a variety of criteria, including access to food, shelter, ambushing opportunities, water temperature, and oxygen levels.

Three prime areas that often meet these criteria for large northern after they’ve spawned in the shallows are points, humps and saddles. Here’s examples of these customary pike structures.

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Points

Points are a piece of structure that juts out into deep water off of shore or an island. They range in shapes and sizes but ultimately points extend into and are surrounded by deeper water. The variation they provide compared to the uniform surrounding shoreline and underwater contours, along with fast access to deep water, make them attractive to pike.

Northern move on points to feed, whether on walleye, perch, bass, or any other species they can get their mouths on. Wind-blown points attract big pike as the turmoil created by waves often stimulates feeding activity as prey become disoriented. Pike are active all day, but morning and evening are particularly good times to try points. When choosing points consider that the larger the structure the more fish it’s likely to hold.

Humps

A hump is an uprising in the bottom depth with a considerable area. They’re also often referred to as bars or sunken islands. The same fish-attraction structural qualities of points also make humps a common place to find northern. Mid-lake humps are particularly productive for trophy pike during summer and autumn. On large, deep lakes northern often inhabit cool, deep water where they’ll follow and feed on schools of whitefish and lake herring.

Humps often attract deep-water pike as both resting and foraging areas. Shallow humps that peak around 10′ to 15′ often have weed growth, which will attract all sizes of pike. Deeper, rocky humps that top out around 20′ to 35′ appeal to big, deep-water fish.

Saddles A saddle is best described as follows: Picture yourself holding a rubber band in two hands so it’s straight. Move your hands together and the band drops — there’s your saddle. Your thumbs and forefingers represent either humps or islands, which could vary in size and shape, and the bends in the band are the sloping, connected points that join these two land masses. Sometimes these slopes are relatively uniform, as in the rubber band example, while in other instances one side may extend farther or drop faster than the other.

In addition to the reasons listed above for points and humps, there are a few other benefits to saddles. The first is they tend to be fairly sizeable structures giving them the potential to hold multiple big fish. Add to this the fact that saddles contain a variety of different depths plus plenty of physical features all wrapped up in one interconnected formation, and it’s no wonder they’re a pike paradise and typically known as big fish spots.

Structure Details

When fishing points, humps and saddles, paying attention to the finer details in the layout of these areas will catch you more and bigger pike. You want to find additional features that will concentrate fish. These zones are often referred to as “the spot on the spot” and represent prime real estate for fish. Small fingers, which could be described as miniature points, and inside bends on any of these three spots have a tendency to attract fish and funnel their movements. Focusing on deep weed walls is wise as pike will hunt along these edges. Rock piles also attract fish.

If you’re fishing the river section of our lake keep current in mind. Expect northern to hunt on the middle to the downstream portion of structures more often than the area being hit with flowing water. Walleye and suckers will hold in the slack water created by these structures and pike won’t be far away from their food.

The next time you’re pursuing a fishing map, keep points, humps and saddles in mind. These structures regularly hold quality northern pike throughout the year after fish have spawned. Fish them thoroughly and don’t be afraid to hit the same structure multiple times in a day to better your chances at intercepting a big pike feeding.

Top predators aren’t pushovers and being at the top of the food chain they can muscle their way into the prime real estate on any water system. Northern pike, especially big ones, inhabit the structures on a water system that best meets a variety of criteria, including access to food, shelter, ambushing opportunities, water temperature, and oxygen levels.

Three prime areas that often meet these criteria for large northern after they’ve spawned in the shallows are points, humps and saddles. Here’s examples of these customary pike structures.

36″ Northern Pike

Just one of nine!

Points

Points are a piece of structure that juts out into deep water off of shore or an island. They range in shapes and sizes but ultimately points extend into and are surrounded by deeper water. The variation they provide compared to the uniform surrounding shoreline and underwater contours, along with fast access to deep water, make them attractive to pike.

Northern move on points to feed, whether on walleye, perch, bass, or any other species they can get their mouths on. Wind-blown points attract big pike as the turmoil created by waves often stimulates feeding activity as prey become disoriented. Pike are active all day, but morning and evening are particularly good times to try points. When choosing points consider that the larger the structure the more fish it’s likely to hold.

Humps

A hump is an uprising in the bottom depth with a considerable area. They’re also often referred to as bars or sunken islands. The same fish-attraction structural qualities of points also make humps a common place to find northern. Mid-lake humps are particularly productive for trophy pike during summer and autumn. On large, deep lakes northern often inhabit cool, deep water where they’ll follow and feed on schools of whitefish and lake herring.

Humps often attract deep-water pike as both resting and foraging areas. Shallow humps that peak around 10′ to 15′ often have weed growth, which will attract all sizes of pike. Deeper, rocky humps that top out around 20′ to 35′ appeal to big, deep-water fish.

Saddles A saddle is best described as follows: Picture yourself holding a rubber band in two hands so it’s straight. Move your hands together and the band drops — there’s your saddle. Your thumbs and forefingers represent either humps or islands, which could vary in size and shape, and the bends in the band are the sloping, connected points that join these two land masses. Sometimes these slopes are relatively uniform, as in the rubber band example, while in other instances one side may extend farther or drop faster than the other.

In addition to the reasons listed above for points and humps, there are a few other benefits to saddles. The first is they tend to be fairly sizeable structures giving them the potential to hold multiple big fish. Add to this the fact that saddles contain a variety of different depths plus plenty of physical features all wrapped up in one interconnected formation, and it’s no wonder they’re a pike paradise and typically known as big fish spots.

Structure Details

When fishing points, humps and saddles, paying attention to the finer details in the layout of these areas will catch you more and bigger pike. You want to find additional features that will concentrate fish. These zones are often referred to as “the spot on the spot” and represent prime real estate for fish. Small fingers, which could be described as miniature points, and inside bends on any of these three spots have a tendency to attract fish and funnel their movements. Focusing on deep weed walls is wise as pike will hunt along these edges. Rock piles also attract fish.

If you’re fishing the river section of our lake keep current in mind. Expect northern to hunt on the middle to the downstream portion of structures more often than the area being hit with flowing water. Walleye and suckers will hold in the slack water created by these structures and pike won’t be far away from their food.

The next time you’re pursuing a fishing map, keep points, humps and saddles in mind. These structures regularly hold quality northern pike throughout the year after fish have spawned. Fish them thoroughly and don’t be afraid to hit the same structure multiple times in a day to better your chances at intercepting a big pike feeding.

The real secret to catching more fish is knowledge! The more you know, the more fish you’ll catch. Fish relate to lake structure like people relate to things around them. Here you’ll find out what kind of structure fish relate to so you know where to find them.

Look for tips identified by a slip bobberChance are pretty good that you live under a roof and have a kitchen. And, if you left your home to drive to a town a few miles away you’d probably take a road and not drive through a field to get there. (At least I hope so )

So what does all that have to do with fishing? Fish need food and shelter just like we do and lake structure provides both. Also, when fish travel they normally follow familiar structure between two points.

Knowing what structure fish like will help you find fish. And finding fish is half the battle!

Some of the most common lake structures are Points, Bars and Breaks.
As you can see in this picture a Point is where visible land extends into the lake. The land is surrounded by water on three sides.

A Bar is shallow water surrounded on three sides by deeper water. The most common type of Bar is an underwater extension of a Point. Another Bar may just be an extension of shallow water into deeper water with no visible above water Point.

The bigger the Point or Bar the better since they attract and hold more fish.

A Break is noticeable change in depth and is sometimes called a drop-off. In many lakes the primary Break line is where the depth changes from around 5-10 feet to 15-20 feet. In shallow, bowl shaped lakes a Break may only be a depth change of a few feet or even less. Breaks serve as travel routes for fish.

The steeper the Break, the better.

The top edge of a Break is called a Ledge. A lake usually has a few Breaks and Ledges that form the decent into deep water.

Other common fish holding structure are Humps and Saddles.

A Hump is sometimes called an underwater island or even a mid-lake bar. This picture has two Humps.

A Saddle is deeper water that leads up to shallower water on two sides.

We can’t forget about Fingers, Inside Turns, and Outside Turns. Fingers are small extensions of a Bar or Hump into deeper water.

Inside Turns are where a Finger meets a Bar. Points and Bars have Inside and Outside Turns as well.The picture can probably do a better job of showing you what these are .

Inside Turns are usually a better choice for finding fish.

Finally, we need to define Inside Weed Lines, Outside Weed Lines and mention Rock Piles. An Inside Weed Line is simply the shallow side of a weed line while the Outside Weed Line is the deep edge of a Weed Line. Outside Weed Lines provide travel routes for fish as well as a great place for fish to hide and ambush other fish.

Rock Piles are important to mention because they’re an excellent place to find fish.

Top predators aren’t pushovers and being at the top of the food chain they can muscle their way into the prime real estate on any water system. Northern pike, especially big ones, inhabit the structures on a water system that best meets a variety of criteria, including access to food, shelter, ambushing opportunities, water temperature, and oxygen levels.

Three prime areas that often meet these criteria for large northern after they’ve spawned in the shallows are points, humps and saddles. Here’s examples of these customary pike structures.

Points

Points are a piece of structure that juts out into deep water off of shore or an island. They range in shapes and sizes but ultimately points extend into and are surrounded by deeper water. The variation they provide compared to the uniform surrounding shoreline and underwater contours, along with fast access to deep water, make them attractive to pike.

Northern move on points to feed, whether on walleye, perch, bass, or any other species they can get their mouths on. Wind-blown points attract big pike as the turmoil created by waves often stimulates feeding activity as prey become disoriented. Pike are active all day, but morning and evening are particularly good times to try points. When choosing points consider that the larger the structure the more fish it’s likely to hold.

Humps

A hump is an uprising in the bottom depth with a considerable area. They’re also often referred to as bars or sunken islands. The same fish-attraction structural qualities of points also make humps a common place to find northern. Mid-lake humps are particularly productive for trophy pike during summer and autumn. On large, deep lakes northern often inhabit cool, deep water where they’ll follow and feed on schools of whitefish and lake herring.

Humps often attract deep-water pike as both resting and foraging areas. Shallow humps that peak around 10′ to 15′ often have weed growth, which will attract all sizes of pike. Deeper, rocky humps that top out around 20′ to 35′ appeal to big, deep-water fish.

Saddles A saddle is best described as follows: Picture yourself holding a rubber band in two hands so it’s straight. Move your hands together and the band drops — there’s your saddle. Your thumbs and forefingers represent either humps or islands, which could vary in size and shape, and the bends in the band are the sloping, connected points that join these two land masses. Sometimes these slopes are relatively uniform, as in the rubber band example, while in other instances one side may extend farther or drop faster than the other.

In addition to the reasons listed above for points and humps, there are a few other benefits to saddles. The first is they tend to be fairly sizeable structures giving them the potential to hold multiple big fish. Add to this the fact that saddles contain a variety of different depths plus plenty of physical features all wrapped up in one interconnected formation, and it’s no wonder they’re a pike paradise and typically known as big fish spots.

Structure Details

When fishing points, humps and saddles, paying attention to the finer details in the layout of these areas will catch you more and bigger pike. You want to find additional features that will concentrate fish. These zones are often referred to as “the spot on the spot” and represent prime real estate for fish. Small fingers, which could be described as miniature points, and inside bends on any of these three spots have a tendency to attract fish and funnel their movements. Focusing on deep weed walls is wise as pike will hunt along these edges. Rock piles also attract fish.

If you’re fishing the river section of our lake keep current in mind. Expect northern to hunt on the middle to the downstream portion of structures more often than the area being hit with flowing water. Walleye and suckers will hold in the slack water created by these structures and pike won’t be far away from their food.

The next time you’re pursuing a fishing map, keep points, humps and saddles in mind. These structures regularly hold quality northern pike throughout the year after fish have spawned. Fish them thoroughly and don’t be afraid to hit the same structure multiple times in a day to better your chances at intercepting a big pike feeding.

The real secret to catching more fish is knowledge! The more you know, the more fish you’ll catch. Fish relate to lake structure like people relate to things around them. Here you’ll find out what kind of structure fish relate to so you know where to find them.

Look for tips identified by a slip bobberChance are pretty good that you live under a roof and have a kitchen. And, if you left your home to drive to a town a few miles away you’d probably take a road and not drive through a field to get there. (At least I hope so )

So what does all that have to do with fishing? Fish need food and shelter just like we do and lake structure provides both. Also, when fish travel they normally follow familiar structure between two points.

Knowing what structure fish like will help you find fish. And finding fish is half the battle!

Some of the most common lake structures are Points, Bars and Breaks.
As you can see in this picture a Point is where visible land extends into the lake. The land is surrounded by water on three sides.

A Bar is shallow water surrounded on three sides by deeper water. The most common type of Bar is an underwater extension of a Point. Another Bar may just be an extension of shallow water into deeper water with no visible above water Point.

The bigger the Point or Bar the better since they attract and hold more fish.

A Break is noticeable change in depth and is sometimes called a drop-off. In many lakes the primary Break line is where the depth changes from around 5-10 feet to 15-20 feet. In shallow, bowl shaped lakes a Break may only be a depth change of a few feet or even less. Breaks serve as travel routes for fish.

The steeper the Break, the better.

The top edge of a Break is called a Ledge. A lake usually has a few Breaks and Ledges that form the decent into deep water.

Other common fish holding structure are Humps and Saddles.

A Hump is sometimes called an underwater island or even a mid-lake bar. This picture has two Humps.

A Saddle is deeper water that leads up to shallower water on two sides.

We can’t forget about Fingers, Inside Turns, and Outside Turns. Fingers are small extensions of a Bar or Hump into deeper water.

Inside Turns are where a Finger meets a Bar. Points and Bars have Inside and Outside Turns as well.The picture can probably do a better job of showing you what these are .

Inside Turns are usually a better choice for finding fish.

Finally, we need to define Inside Weed Lines, Outside Weed Lines and mention Rock Piles. An Inside Weed Line is simply the shallow side of a weed line while the Outside Weed Line is the deep edge of a Weed Line. Outside Weed Lines provide travel routes for fish as well as a great place for fish to hide and ambush other fish.

Rock Piles are important to mention because they’re an excellent place to find fish.

Top predators aren’t pushovers and being at the top of the food chain they can muscle their way into the prime real estate on any water system. Northern pike, especially big ones, inhabit the structures on a water system that best meets a variety of criteria, including access to food, shelter, ambushing opportunities, water temperature, and oxygen levels.

Three prime areas that often meet these criteria for large northern after they’ve spawned in the shallows are points, humps and saddles. Here’s examples of these customary pike structures.

Points

Points are a piece of structure that juts out into deep water off of shore or an island. They range in shapes and sizes but ultimately points extend into and are surrounded by deeper water. The variation they provide compared to the uniform surrounding shoreline and underwater contours, along with fast access to deep water, make them attractive to pike.

Northern move on points to feed, whether on walleye, perch, bass, or any other species they can get their mouths on. Wind-blown points attract big pike as the turmoil created by waves often stimulates feeding activity as prey become disoriented. Pike are active all day, but morning and evening are particularly good times to try points. When choosing points consider that the larger the structure the more fish it’s likely to hold.

Humps

A hump is an uprising in the bottom depth with a considerable area. They’re also often referred to as bars or sunken islands. The same fish-attraction structural qualities of points also make humps a common place to find northern. Mid-lake humps are particularly productive for trophy pike during summer and autumn. On large, deep lakes northern often inhabit cool, deep water where they’ll follow and feed on schools of whitefish and lake herring.

Humps often attract deep-water pike as both resting and foraging areas. Shallow humps that peak around 10′ to 15′ often have weed growth, which will attract all sizes of pike. Deeper, rocky humps that top out around 20′ to 35′ appeal to big, deep-water fish.

Saddles A saddle is best described as follows: Picture yourself holding a rubber band in two hands so it’s straight. Move your hands together and the band drops — there’s your saddle. Your thumbs and forefingers represent either humps or islands, which could vary in size and shape, and the bends in the band are the sloping, connected points that join these two land masses. Sometimes these slopes are relatively uniform, as in the rubber band example, while in other instances one side may extend farther or drop faster than the other.

In addition to the reasons listed above for points and humps, there are a few other benefits to saddles. The first is they tend to be fairly sizeable structures giving them the potential to hold multiple big fish. Add to this the fact that saddles contain a variety of different depths plus plenty of physical features all wrapped up in one interconnected formation, and it’s no wonder they’re a pike paradise and typically known as big fish spots.

Structure Details

When fishing points, humps and saddles, paying attention to the finer details in the layout of these areas will catch you more and bigger pike. You want to find additional features that will concentrate fish. These zones are often referred to as “the spot on the spot” and represent prime real estate for fish. Small fingers, which could be described as miniature points, and inside bends on any of these three spots have a tendency to attract fish and funnel their movements. Focusing on deep weed walls is wise as pike will hunt along these edges. Rock piles also attract fish.

If you’re fishing the river section of our lake keep current in mind. Expect northern to hunt on the middle to the downstream portion of structures more often than the area being hit with flowing water. Walleye and suckers will hold in the slack water created by these structures and pike won’t be far away from their food.

The next time you’re pursuing a fishing map, keep points, humps and saddles in mind. These structures regularly hold quality northern pike throughout the year after fish have spawned. Fish them thoroughly and don’t be afraid to hit the same structure multiple times in a day to better your chances at intercepting a big pike feeding.

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Two young kids moved into the remote region of NW Ontario and took with them a dream........ 'It became Wawang Lake Resort'
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